As I sit here at my desk typing this, the radio in my office is tuned to the satilite station XM 75: Hear Music. The mood in my office is always rich and smooth, just like a certain hot beverage. The soothing voice of the on-air personality wispers, “The sound of Starbucks” as the latest David Grey tune gently begins and I feel like I’m right there at the coffee shop- sans the sounds of coffee grinders and foaming milk, of course. Then, when I hear a new artist or a great new song, I can just pick it up at the register the next time I’m ordering a tall White Chocolate Mocha.

The bottom line for Starbucks is that it is first and foremost selling coffee but they are more interested in selling a lifestyle of laid back, hipster cool. And guess what? It works. It works because it seems to be a natural occurance. Starbucks isn’t trying hard to force you into buying their coffee and then thrusting the lifestyle on you. It happens almost organically.

You walk in to buy a cup of joe. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The cashier asks for your name and scribbles it on to your cup. While you wait for your Carmel Machiatto you peruse the CDs, mugs, coasters, and brewing machines. You walk out with your drink, a tumbler with “Starry Night”, and that ultra-cool Sam Cooke compilation. You climb into your SUV and flip the channel to 75. Tracy Chapman sings to you as you travel to work where you can buy a cold frapachino from the vending machine near your cubicle. That night you head out to go see the latest flick with your favorite actor, Larry “Cowboy Curtis” Fishburn. On the way home you pop that Sam Cooke compilation in the dash and smile. What a day.

Starbucks not only sells Coffee but Music, Movies, and Mood. Starbucks is branded as a lifestyle more than a beverage. And that got me thinking…

I posted this back in April with a promise to write a second chapter expounding on my “Starbucks-as-lifestyle” belief. My theory is that there is something about the way Starbucks does buisness that can help us in the church help reach our communities. The problem is that I kept hitting dead ends. My thoughts and feelings kept getting derailed by commerce. There are enough chuches selling things whether they know it or not and I don’t want to turn Jesus into some sort of trinket that is this year’s must buy. Consumerism is killing our churches and I didn’t want to add to that.

However, I knew that there had to be something else. Something deeper. There was truth to be found beyond the coffee, books, and music but I found myself unable to connect the dots.

Then I found out the Len Sweet, theologian and futurist, would be releasing a book early next year entitled, “The Gospel According to Starbucks.” I knew that if Sweet was writing about the coffee giant than I was surely on to something. I had to connect the dots.

But where to begin? Commerce had been a dead end and the growth patterns seemed just as helpful. That’s when I found it.

The Green Apron Book.
Be Welcoming. Be Genuine. Be Knowledgable. Be Considerate. Be Involved.

Everything I had believed to be true about how the church should be more like Starbucks was contained within that tiny book given to partners (employees) no bigger than a passport.

I am trying to get a copy of one for keeps. I found one manager that allowed me to read the book while in he store but wouldn’t allow me to keep it.

My fingers brushed along the pages. My mind raced as I gazed through my incredible find. My heart pounded like a bass drum and I took in the entire experience.

The answer isn’t in books and coffee beans. The answer is in the ethos. In the heart.

More to come…